Hosted by Chandra Wobschall and Paul Houtkooper

Hello JDE Connection listeners — it’s Chandra and Paul, back for another round in our JD Edwards security series. In this episode, we wrap up our mini-series on the Security Workbench (P00950) by walking through the remaining security types and a few bonus features that help organizations maintain control, avoid chaos, and keep their CNCs from pulling their hair out.

And yes, along the way, we also covered cooling vests for dogs, awkward acronyms, and something fishy. Read on.

“FAD” – Functions As Designed… But Not Always Functional

Before we dove into the technical content, we tackled a common frustration: the dreaded “Functions As Designed” response. As Paul shared (passionately), FAD often feels like the corporate parent equivalent of “no,” without the courtesy of context or compassion. We discussed why it’s time to retire FAD as a standard response and find better ways to communicate limitations — with empathy, curiosity, and more transparency. Customers deserve to feel heard, even when we can’t accommodate their requests.

Security Types Covered in This Episode

This installment explored six more security types and two bonus controls within JD Edwards. Here’s what we discussed:

• Media Object Security (Type G)
  Allows you to restrict the ability to add, change, delete, or view media attachments on forms or applications. Useful when safeguarding supporting documentation or attachments that shouldn’t be altered post-approval.
• Data Browser Security (Type B)
  Governs who can access the Data Browser and what they can query. Given its power, it should be used sparingly. An unfiltered query on large tables can create system slowdowns—much to the dismay of your CNC team.
• Push Button Security (Type U)
  Provides control over visibility and interaction with push buttons, links, or image controls. For example, users might be allowed to view a control but not activate it. Useful for enforcing segregation of duties without UI customization.
• Text Block (Type K) and Chart Control Security (Type C)
  These settings let you restrict the use or visibility of text blocks and chart elements on a form. While not commonly used, they’re available for tailoring form access based on business roles.
• Application Query Security
  This form-level control helps prevent wide-open searches in high-volume applications. You can configure it to issue a warning or hard error when a user fails to enter appropriate search criteria, minimizing system drag and improving performance.

Additional Security Considerations

We also touched on two additional controls that aren’t part of the standard security types but are important for administrators:

• Read/Write Report Security (“NUR”)
  Assigning users to the “No Update Report Creation User” profile restricts them to running only read-only reports. This is particularly valuable for SOX compliance and audit controls. And yes — this sparked a reflection on Chanrdra’s enhancement request: clearer visibility into which reports actually update data.
• External Call Security (e.g., RDA.EXE)
  You can block certain applications from being called externally (such as through Report Design Aid), adding another layer of defense for published business services and system integrity.

Midwesternism of the Day

Chandra’s contribution this week? A Midwestern gem used to describe how she sleeps: Picture a fish flailing on the deck of a boat. Paul couldn’t help but turn it into an imagined regional dance move — and possibly a new way to describe Monday mornings.

Missed the Earlier Episodes?

If you’re just tuning in, check out the earlier parts of our Security Workbench series:

• Episode 60: Application, Action, Row, and Column Security
• Episode 63: Security Hierarchy, Tabs, Exits, and Exclusives

We’ll be back in a future episode to cover UDO security, so stay tuned.

As always, send your feedback, questions, or topic suggestions to [email protected]. And if you have your own good story or tale to share, we’re listening.

Until next time,
Let’s keep learning, sharing, and laughing together.

Toodles!

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